When I was in my early twenties, I went on a short trip to Normandy to refresh my childhood memories.
I vaguely remembered one or two family holidays we spent on the coast of Normandy, so one Friday after work, I got in my car and drove 560 km to Deauville.
On that particular weekend I fell in love with this region, and returned almost each year since.
After I met my present husband, we continued this tradition, until in 2007, the year before our eldest son was born.
We then had a break in our regular visits, and next time we visited Normandy was in spring of 2011, three weeks before Hannah was born.
We were so eager to get back to our beloved Normandy, which we did from April 10th to 18th.
So what do do and what to see in Normandy?
Certainly you have heard already about Normandy and the contrasts for which it stands:
sunny sandy beaches and wealthy snobs on the one hand, and landing beaches and war memorials on the other.
It's those contrasts that we love !
Of course there's nothing to love about the historical background of WW2 - apart from the fact that we have been saved and freed by the Allies - but it's important to remember and never forget what people had been going through during these years. That's why we do visit this sites and monuments to deepen our knowledge about details of WW2 and to rise our kid's awareness of history.
Where to stay?
Villers sur Mer, a lovely place to stay on the coast. I / we've stayed in Villers each time while visiting the Calvados department.
http://www.villers-sur-mer.fr/Home
In Villers you'll find everything you need, sandy beach, supermarket and local shops, hiking trails, the so-called 'falaises des caches noires' means cliffs of the black cows, the marsh with the park, the Paléospace and dinosaurs ...
This year we stayed in a flat / duplex centrally located in Villers. It was rather a house than a flat, because there's just the owner's wine bar at the ground floor, and the flat on the first and second floor.
On the first floor is the open kitchen, living room and dining area. on the second floor, three bedrooms, bathroom and toilet.
There's no parking or garage, but if you're visiting outside the summer season, all parking along the streets are free.
Though centrally located and just above a wine bar, the flat was not noisy apart from the garbage trucks you hear in the morning in the master bedroom (the other bedrooms are on the rear of the building).
The flat was tidy on the surface, but not under the beds or in hidden corners and one less convenient thing was that there's only one toilet on the second floor, which sometimes isn't enough for 5 person.
The flat was well equipped and spacious (except for the tiny toilet) and good property for not too much money.
I'll definitely recommend the flat, and perhaps cleaning is done better now after we complained.
http://www.homelidays.com/hebergement/p6693982
What to do in Normandy?
There's so much to see and do.
So here is what was on our schedule this year:
Deauville: famous and arrogant, but nice to visit.
We had a look at the hippodrome and walked on the 'planches' in Deauville.
Trouville: big and well known market on Wednesdays and Sundays morning, you can walk along the pier of the port, try to find a cosy place in one of the many overcrowded restaurants, or relax on the beach.
Caen: lovely and very big pedestrian area with plenty of restaurants, cafés, shops and old buildings. Ideal for window shopping and sight seeing (castle, abbeys, museums…)
Villers sur Mer: sandy beach, supermarket and local shops, window shopping and sight seeing, hiking trails, the so-called 'falaises des caches noires' means cliffs of the black cows, the marsh with the park, the Paléospace and dinosaurs ...
We've visited the Paleospace, museum of the dinosaurs of Normandy, the Greenich Meridien and the marsh). Really interesting and worth visiting http://www.paleospace-villers.fr/en/
Honfleur: la belle - the beauty: historic houses on the quays of the old port 'vieux bassin'; museums, galleries and little shops all around. so enchanting that I can nearly not been described. You definitely have to visit ! If you go there on a Saturday, make sure to be there before noon, as it's market day. the market is spread around the Place St Catherine and it's a further attraction not to miss.
WW2 memorials: there are memorials and museums in nearly each little village along the coast.
We stopped in Vieville sur Mer, the Pointe du Hoc, Colleville sur Mer, Longue sur Mer, Arromanches and the Pegasus bridge.
Further more to these excursions and visits, we've been spending endless hours on the beach as well as on the playground in the park at the 'marais' (marsh) in Villers sur Mer.
And we've been visiting and enjoying a wonderful evening with our longtime friends Catherine and Michel, who we hadn't seen in 4 years.
I hope it will not last again 4 years before we'll be back in Normandy !
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